Onward State: Alternative Activities on State Patty’s Day

If you hadn’t heard, this Saturday is State Patty’s Day, the highly anticipated and highly controversial pseudo holiday that has the University buying out local bars for the day, apartments banning parties, and residence halls implementing a strict guest policy.

Although this Penn State controversy doesn’t include the NCAA or politically incorrect sorority girls, the holiday phenomenon has nonetheless caused quite a stir with the State College townsfolk, University administration, the local police force, and even has students questioning if the risk of getting an underage this weekend is really worth it. And while State Patty’s has progressively lost steam over the years, there will without a doubt be a huge number of students out this weekend taking as much advantage as they can of the day drinking holiday, making merry and causing mischief among the usually quiet streets of State College on Saturday afternoon.

Fortunately, for those who have chosen to ignore State Patty’s this year, there are a number of other activities and events (other than Skate Patty’s Day) that are happening on Saturday.

Chronic Town has answered State Patty’s with a made up holiday of their own. They will be hosting the indie pop group The Spinto Band on Saturday night. Doors will open at 8 p.m. with the 18 and up event beginning at 9 p.m. Special guests Delicious Pastries, Gretchen Lohse, and DJ Dead Ants will also be joining.

Check out The Spinto Band’s official website for a preview of their music before Saturday night’s festivities.

The Student Film Organization is holding the first ever B-Film festival highlighting the best and worst cult films from the last 30 years. The event will be held on campus in the Carnegie Cinema Room (so I would suggest to those of you who are indeed celebrating in the morning to sleep it off before coming) with the first film beginning at 7 p.m.

For more details on what exactly a “B-Film” entails, check out this preview we posted a few weeks ago.

Penn State Day of Service

The Day of Service has served as a sober and charitable alternative to partying on State Patty’s Day for the last few years. It offers more than 15 different projects that aim toward helping the State College Borough instead of destroying it with drunken debauchery and reckless behavior.

Adventure Club, the Canadian dubstep duo will be entertaining the Levels crowd on Saturday night with the event starting at 9 p.m and raging on until 2 a.m. Early bird tickets have already been sold out, but tickets can still be purchased here for 18+ and 21+. And while an EDM concert at a nightclub will undoubtedly bring hardcore partyers, it sure beats watching out of towners throwing up on a CATA bus before noon.

Admission is free to the Vagina Monologues this weekend in 105 Forum. The College of Women’s Studies sponsored event will be held all three nights, Friday the 22nd, Saturday the 23rd, and Sunday the 24th with the doors opening at 7:30 p.m. each night. Donations will be taken at the door to benefit the Centre County’s Women’s Resource center.

Participating in the Vagina Monologues seems so much more constructive than day drinking and passing out in a local’s yard.

In case you missed the THON shout out from Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi is hitting the BJC as a part of the east coast leg of their “Because We Can – The Tour.” The concert event is the perfect time to show off your sweet vocals and lyrical knowledge that you honed after a whole football season of screaming “Livin’ On a Prayer.” Tickets are still available for purchase and although it seems like it might be too soon to trek up to the BJC after THON weekend, that does not qualify an acceptable excuse to miss the show.

As appealing as funneling green beer at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning is, maybe it’s time to let the State Patty’s dream go and check out some of these alternative events for Saturday.

The National Weather Service has posted a winter weather advisory for State College until noon today. Freezing rain is in the forecast raising the possibility that drivers may encounter some icy spots on area roadways. Pay special attention when driving across overpasses and bridges.

Slick conditions are a threat until later today when temperatures are expected to rise above freezing. Be sure to